You Push, I Pull
by psychncislover
Summary: Lindsay started to have sex dreams about Danny and when he gets this info, he uses it to his advantage. But what happens when it turns into a betting match to who gives into their desires first? Takes place 2nd-3rd season, but before Sleight Out of Hand. **Discontinued**
1. The Dreams

_Her back hit the door of her apartment from the force of the kiss. He slanted his lips over hers, successfully dominating her mouth. She felt his tongue press against the seam of her mouth and she willingly opened it, dancing with his before he dominated it and started to memorize every corner of her mouth. She moaned into his mouth and gripped his hair in her hands tightly. She heard a growl come from his throat and he placed his hands under her ass and boosted her up, causing her to instinctually wrap her legs around his waist, bringing her center in contact with his growing erection. He moved his lips down her jaw and onto her neck, smothering it with openmouthed kisses. Right when he was in the area where he neck met her shoulder, she rubbed her hips into his and he growled, biting down hard into her skin. Her head fell back against the door and she groaned loudly into the air, closing her eyes shut. He continued his assault on her neck, sucking and biting several areas along the way. She started rubbing her hips into his, trying hard to relieve the heat that was building in her stomach. _

_"God!" she shouted when he started moving lower, relieving her of her bra. "Please..."_

_"Please what?" he teased in that damn New York accent that got to her every time, ghosting over her right breast._

_She moaned louder, trying to pull his head down to where she needed it but he refused to budge. She then felt his hand move from her ass onto her body and down into the front of her jeans. Her breathing labored and then she moaned when she felt him apply pressure to her clit and clamped his mouth onto her nipple. He started rubbing vigorously over her panties before slipping his fingers under them and shoving two into her. Her eyes shot open and a scream ripped from her throat at the sensations he was causing her. He kept sliding in and out of her while moving to her other neglected nipple. He was working her up into a fast orgasm and she was about to fall over the ledge..._

Ring...Ring...Ring...

"Ugh!" Detective Lindsay Monroe yelled as she reached to her bedside table for her cellphone. After looking for a moment, her hand finally came in contact with it, only for it to slip through her sweaty palm, a result of that oh so wonderful dream.

"Damn!" Lindsay shouted again.

After retrieving her phone from the floor, she flipped it open, answering in a breathy tone. "Monroe."

After getting the latest crime scene location from her boss, Detective Mac Taylor, she hung up the phone and started untangling herself from her sheets, grumbling when she saw her whole body covered in sweat from her latest dream involving her arrogant, wise-ass but totally sexy coworker, Detective Danny Messer. She shook her head and threw the phone on the bed before hopping in her shower for a quick rinse. After drying out her hair and applying a little make-up, she went into her closet to quickly change. She grabbed a tight, white cotton blouse, black denim jeans and creme square-toe leather pumps, throwing them on before heading to her jewelry box. On an impulse, she put diamond teardrop earrings in her ears and put a silver watch on her wrist. It didn't look like she would have time for food, so she quickly grabbed her badge, gun and keys and left the apartment.

She arrived at an average-looking house 30 minutes later, after stopping by the lab to grab her case she accidently left there. An officer lifted up the crime scene tape for her and she was met by Mac.

"What do you need me to do?" Lindsay asked, taking a sip of her coffee to wake-up.

"Go back and help out Stella with the bedroom. Danny is checking out the rest of the house, but the primary crime scene is in the bedroom." Mac said.

Lindsay couldn't stop the pang of desire that shot through her entire body at hearing Danny's name, but controlled herself before Mac could notice.

"Okay." Lindsay said. "Which way to the bedroom?"

"Head straight in, up the stairs and its the first door on your right." Mac said.

Lindsay sighed in relief that she wouldn't have to be around Danny for the moments being. Seeing him so soon after waking up from that...that, well, that sex dream would be too much. She grabbed her case, headed into the house, and went looking for the staircase. She spotted the stairs, but in that moment, she saw Danny head over to her. Fate must hate her so much right now. He looked absolutely delectable in second-skin denim jeans and green polo shirt that clung to his upper body like a glove.

She tried to ignore him and continue her path to the stairs, but Danny grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Whoa Montana! Where's the fire?" She really hated his Staten Island accent that never failed to send shivers down her spine.

Lindsay took a deep breath in and let it out, trying not to relish in the tingles that shot up her arm where he touched her. "Nowhere. Just trying to get to Stella."

"Ah. Mac put ya on crime scene duty?" Danny asked, laughing a bit. That laughter was like music to her ears, but she fought to keep her face neutral.

"That he did." Lindsay said, taking her arm out of his grasp. "I better go. Stella probably needs some help."

Danny smiled, almost leaving her weak in the knees, and she went up the stairs and over to the bedroom entrance.

"Hey Linds." Detective Stella Bonasera said from inside the room, smiling.

"Hey Stell." Lindsay said, still holding her case, waiting right outside the door. "Have you cleared the area?"

"Yes." Stella said. "Come on in."

Lindsay walked into the bedroom and placed her case down and put on her gloves. "So, what happened here?"

"Not sure yet. What we have so far is the wife came home from a night out with her friends and entered the house. Her husband stayed in and when she went back into her bedroom, she found his body slumped across the bed with two bullet holes in his chest. From the shell casings we found under the bed, it looks like he was shot with a 35-caliber gun. Flack had the wife look around, and it seems like nothing's been taken from the house, so we don't think it was a robbery-gone-wrong. We'll have to wait for Sid to examen the body to confirm COD." Stella said, walking around the scene and taking pictures.

Lindsay nodded and glanced out the door and saw Danny downstairs, talking with Detective Don Flack. She couldn't suppress the shiver that went down her spine at the sight of him and the memory of his rough, calloused hand on her arm.

"What do you need me to do?" Lindsay asked, ready to work (and to distract herself from thoughts of Danny).

"I'll finish documenting the scene. Could you collect trace?" Stella asked.

"Of course." Lindsay said, taking everything she needed out of her case.

As she went around the room, collecting trace, her thoughts were drifting and landed on the dream, correction, dreams, she'd been having lately. They're always so realistic that she'd actually feel like they're happening, waking up on the brink of ecstasy every time. But what gets her is she is having them about Danny, of all people. She knew from the first time she saw him that there was something between them, a spark, and over the time she's worked with him, she had started to fall more and more into that sexual tension, and that scared her to death. She never let anyone in, especially not after what happened in Montana; her heart is well guarded by thick-inch steel walls, keeping out intruders. But somehow Danny wormed his way past that wall and found a place in her heart.

Again, her thoughts drifted back to the dreams, especially last night's. It was by far the worse, or best depending on how you look at it, dream she's had about him. She couldn't stop the tremble and red-hot spark that shook her from head to toe, settling in a pooling heat in the pit of her stomach. She stopped what she was doing for a second and closed her eyes, trying to get control back over her body as the images kept flashing beneath her closed eyelids.

Stella quickly finished taking the photographs and looked up to see how Lindsay was doing. She stopped short when she saw a trembling Lindsay, frozen in place by the far wall. Stella looked over her friend and saw the flushed look on her face and the clenched fists at her side.

Stella double-checked to make sure she finished documenting and taking any evidence possible from the door, then closed, and locked, it with a gloved hand. Lindsay heard the door click and that took her out of her lust-filled daze. She glanced up at Stella with a questioning gaze.

"Lindsay, hun, what's wrong?" Stella asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

Lindsay's throat closed up, but she cleared it and looked down. "Nothing's wr-wrong."

"Lindsay, I'm a trained CSI and your friend, so please don't lie to me. What's wrong? Talk to me." Stella said, walking over to Lindsay and squatted down next to her.

Lindsay looked down, away from Stella's gaze and shrugged.

"Lindsay, you look like you're about to fall over from lust and desire." Stella said, placing a hand on her arm. "I know the signs when I see them, so don't even try to deny it. You have someone on your mind or something happened last night."

Lindsay knew she couldn't hide anything from her friend, especially a trained CSI. "And the night before that, and the night before that, and the night before that..." Lindsay muttered.

Stella gasped and gripped Lindsay's arm harder. "What now?"

Lindsay laughed when she thought what Stella must be thinking. "Dreams, Stell, dreams."

Stella eased her iron grip from Lindsay's arm and calmed down. "Sex dreams?"

"Yeah." Lindsay said, finally looking up at Stella.

"For how long?" Stella asked, moving her hands over Lindsay's and having her put down what she was doing.

Lindsay thought about that. "I think about a month or two. Or three."

"And who do they star?" Stella asked with a mischievous smile.

Lindsay swallowed a huge lump in her throat and looked back at the ground. "Danny." She whispered.

"Danny?" Stella asked, fighting a smile. "Danny Messer?"

Lindsay just nodded.

"Sounds more like fantasies than sex dreams." Stella then smiled like the Cheshire cat. "How steamy are they?"

As Stella went back to her case to grab some evidence bags to collect evidence, Lindsay went back to collecting trace while she told Stella her latest dream.

Little did the two women know was that Flack was right outside the door and he heard the whole conversation. Flack smiled hugely as he thought of different ways to tell Danny this piece of interesting information. Things were about to get a lot more interesting.


	2. Addicted

Lindsay and Stella finished taking all the evidence and headed downstairs. Mac, Danny and Flack were outside, finishing up. The two women met the men outside, Lindsay always looking anywhere but Danny, and grabbed all the evidence they collected.

"Danny, you and Lindsay head back to the lab with the evidence and start processing everything. Hawkes and Adam will be there to help." Mac said. "Stella, come with me and we'll go talk to the vic's family, see if they know something the wife didn't. Flack, go question the rest of the wife's friends, just to make sure her alibi is sound."

Stella looked over at Lindsay, seeing the young woman sweating and shaking just a bit. Stella knew she needed to help her out, so she turned to Mac.

"Mac, can I go back with Lindsay? I collected most of the evidence, so I'll know what to start with." Stella said.

Mac saw something in Stella's eyes and knew there was another reason that Stella wanted to go back with Lindsay and it wasn't because of the evidence. He decided just to trust Stella and find out what's wrong later.

"Okay, Danny, go with Flack and talk to the rest of the friends and Stella go back to the lab with Lindsay." Mac said.

Danny handed over his evidence bags to Stella and Lindsay, looking curiously when Lindsay didn't make eye contact. Lindsay looked over at Stella as they walked to the department-issued Chevrolet Avalanche Lindsay drove over in.

"Thank you so much Stella." Lindsay said as she placed the evidence in the back, along with her case.

"No problem Linds. I saw what that was gonna do to you, being alone with him. I couldn't do that to you." Stella said, sliding into the driver's seat, smiling.

Lindsay smiled back and slid into the passenger's side, handing Stella the key. They kept talking on the way back to the lab about her dreams.

Flack couldn't contain the grin on his face while he and Danny drove. Danny glanced over at his friend and saw that he was sporting a very the-cat-ate-the-canary grin. He tried to think of why he would be smiling like that, besides the obvious reasons, especially since they were leaving a crime scene, and got nothing.

"What'cha smilin' 'bout?" Danny asked.

"Just something I overheard." Flack said, still grinning.

"Anythin' interestin'?" Danny asked, curious.

"Just something Stella and Lindsay were talking about." Flack said, snickering when he saw Danny perk up at the sound of Lindsay's name.

"Would ya like to share?" Danny said.

"Oh I really don't think I should." Flack said, smirking. "It would be wrong to repeat things I heard which were told in confidence."

"Flack!" Danny said. "Why tell me that ya heard somethin', then not tell me?"

"It's fun?" Flack said, still smiling.

"Flack." Danny groaned, clearly getting impatient.

"Okay, don't get your panties in a twist." Flack joked. "It seems that our little country girl is having some interesting dreams about someone."

"Define interestin'." Danny said. "And who they 'bout?"

"Use your imagination Danny." Flack said, chuckling. "And where would the fun be in telling you who?"

"Flack!" Danny complained, thinking he knew what the dreams were about.

Flack looked over at his friend and laughed some more. "Fine, but use this information wisely."

"Fine, fine." Danny said, eager to know who his Montana was dreaming about, (not even thinking it could be him).

"Lindsay seems to be having dreams, well fantasies is what Stella called them, about..." Flack said, drawing this out as long as he possibly could.

"Flack!" Danny warned.

"Fine! You're no fun." Flack said. "She's been having dreams about you."

Danny's eyes shot open and his mouth dropped. "Really?"

"Yup." Flack said and then started telling Danny everything he had heard.

"Three months?" Danny said in disbelief.

Flack nodded.

"Interestin'." Danny muttered, starting to slowly smile before they pulled up to the first friend's house and they had to get back to work.

Lindsay and Stella exited the elevator, carrying the evidence with them. They finished their talk about Lindsay's dreams and now were ready to get to work. Stella decided to check out the DNA they collected while Lindsay went to work on the victim's clothes. They gave the rest to Adam and Hawkes to divide between themselves.

About two hours later, Flack dropped Danny off at the crime lab. They finished talking to the friends and Danny needed to get back to help with the evidence. He took the elevator up and got off on the crime lab's floor. First things first, he went in search of Montana. He finally found her in one of the labs, taking trace from the vic's clothes. He stood where he was for a moment, just looking at her. She wasn't wearing her lab coat, so he could see all of her backside in the tight clothing she was wearing. He started up at the top, his eyes roaming over the curves that her shirt clung to; he went lower and saw the outline of her ass in the second-skin jeans she was wearing. The jeans somewhat outlined her legs, which he remembered seeing in that dress on that subway case, which were supple, toned and tan. Danny smiled as he finished looking her over and headed into the lab. He decided he wasn't going to tell her he knew about the dreams, and see how far he could push her.

Lindsay was bent over the lab table, carefully combing over the vic's pants, taking trace. When she moved down to the cuff of the pajama pants, she found something weird. She moved to get a closer look at it when she felt someone enter the room. She ignored it, thinking it was just another lab tech, and kept looking at the trace. She started to tense when she realized it wasn't a lab tech and he wasn't leaving anytime soon. She smelled an aroma that was uniquely _his_ and her fears were correct, Danny was in this room, moving closer to her. She tried to concentrate on the trace, but he moved so he was right behind her. Lindsay could literally _feel_ the heat coming off of him, almost as if he was right on top of her, which wouldn't particularly be a bad thing, her mind said to her.

Oh yes, yes it would be a very bad thing.

She swallowed thickly when she felt him lean over her and didn't dare to move. She waited for him to do something, anything that would get him off of her fast so she can take a cleansing breath.

"What'cha gawkin' at, Montana?" he asked, looking interested in whatever she found.

She took a deep breath in and out. _Of course he wouldn't do anything to me. I'm nothing special to him. _She berated herself for reading too much into the situation and was about to explain the trace she found, when she felt him shift. She then felt something brush against her neck, something that felt like lips and that sent an electric shock from her neck to her entire body, making goosebumps appear. She waited, again, seeing what his next move was, but by some miracle, he moved back and went to the other side of the table.

"Somethin' wrong, Montana?" Danny asked, smiling that damn smile that made her fuzzy and dizzy.

Lindsay took a cleansing breath in, relieved that his scent was gone. "No, Messer, I'm fine. Just got some weird trace is all."

"Do ya need any help?" Danny asked.

"No." Lindsay said a little too quickly. "Go ask Hawkes or Adam if they need help."

"Okay." Danny said, smiling again. "See ya later Montana." He passed by her again and left the lab.

Lindsay then dropped her head onto her arm, which was resting on the table, and sighed in relief. That was _way_ too close. She was about a second away to dragging him to the nearest supply closet and having her way with him. Danny was way too sexy for his own good. He needed to come with a warning label or something. Everything about him is addictive to her: his eyes, his smile, his body, his hair, his accent. _It's official,_ she said to herself, _I'm addicted to Danny Messer_. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if she kissed him, or worse, slept with him. She'd be an addict with no chance of rehab. She shook her head and got back to work.


	3. Danny Knows!

Lindsay just finished processing some evidence and was currently walking towards the locker room. She needed room to breathe, and think. She stopped in front of her locker and turned to lean against it. She was seriously five seconds away from committing murder, or losing her mind. All week Danny had been poking holes in her self-control and she had no idea why. Now, every time she would take a nap or try to sleep, she'd wake up from dreams far worse than they've been. Every time her and Danny were remotely in the same area, he would tease her or get close to her or do something sexual-like. It was driving her insane.

She was seriously regretting her outfit choice today: a white short-sleeve button-down blouse, black jeans and brown suede pumps. She could literally feel Danny's eyes on her whenever she was near him. She slid down onto the ground and placed her face in her hands. She was trying to pull herself together; Danny staring and teasing her combined with the lack of sleep was affecting her more than she would like to admit.

"Ya okay there Montana?" Danny asked, from somewhere in front of her.

_Damn it!_ Lindsay thought to herself as she pulled her head up and looked at him. He wasn't looking to bad today either: blue button-down shirt, jeans and black boots. She smiled at him and pushed herself into a standing position.

"I'm fine Danny." Lindsay said, smoothing out the wrinkles in her shirt. "Just a bit tired is all."

"Why's that?" he asked, leaning back against the lockers across from her.

"Haven't been sleeping that well." Lindsay said, trying to figure out why this mattered to him. She did have to admit she got a bit scared when he smiled that damn "I know something you don't" smile.

"Insomnia?" Danny asked, still smiling.

"No." Lindsay said, still apprehensive because of that smile.

"Weird dreams?" Danny asked, his smile growing bigger.

She swore her heart stopped beating before picking up double-time and blushing. "Dreams, yes. They aren't weird though."

Danny pushed himself off the locker and walked closer to her. "What kind of dreams?"

"Just...dreams." Lindsay said, still blushing.

"Well, a lil' detective might of told me that a certain country girl was havin' certain dreams about.." Danny trailed off when he saw her look down, away from him, and blush harder.

Lindsay swallowed the lump in her throat. _Stella wouldn't have done that to me, would she?_ Lindsay thought to herself. She thought they were getting to be pretty good friends. Lindsay looked back up at Danny. "That's none of your business."

Danny stepped over the bench that was in between them, getting closer to her, and leaned forward, resting his right hand by Lindsay's head. "I beg to differ." He said in an octave lower than she's used to, effectively sending shivers down her spine.

She swallowed her nerves and lust down; he was too close. "Why's that?" she all but whispered.

He leaned closer to her until his mouth was right by her ear, accelerating her heart rate. "I find it completely sexy when a woman has sex dreams about me, especially if that woman is you." He whispered in her ear and pulled back to gauge her expression.

She quickly looked up at him, looking like a deer caught in the headlight and blushing profusely. "How did you know?" She whispered harshly at him, not even trying to deny it.

"I told ya, a lil' detective told me." Danny said, smirking.

Lindsay swallowed another surge of lust at that smirk. "How long have you known?" she asked, looking down at her hands. There was really no point in denying it. Her face was telling him all he needed to know.

She felt his hand move under her chin and move it up so she was looking at him. He then moved his hand so it was lightly caressing her cheek. She was suddenly very glad that no one was in the locker room with them.

"About a week." He said, moving his hand so it was now running through her hair. "But I heard it's been going on longer for you."

It was becoming very hard to think coherently for her. He had no idea what affect he has on her mind and body. _Wait_. She thought to herself. _Maybe he knows exactly what he's doing to me. It makes sense now, this week. He knew exactly what he was doing, destroying my self-control._

Lindsay pushed him back, the back of his legs hitting the bench, and smacked him on the chest. "You jerk!"

"What?" Danny asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion. She had to admit it was a very cute sight but shook the thought away.

"This whole week!" she quietly shouted. "Slowly driving me to the point of insanity because you knew exactly how I felt. Because you knew about the dreams and used them to your advantage. That is _not_ fair!"

"How is it not fair?" he asked, smirking slightly.

"You getting to seduce me, knowing how I felt, and me not being able to do anything in return!" she said harshly, pointing a finger at him.

"No one said ya couldn't do anythin' in return." He said, leaning his face closer to her so he was a breaths away from her face. "Actually, I'd love ta see ya try."

Lindsay's competitive side told her she _had_ to take the challenge. She moved so their noses were touching. "You want seduction? I'll give you seduction. Bring it on Messer."

Danny and Lindsay stayed staring at each other until they heard the door to the locker room open and that broke whatever spell they were under. She pulled back and smiled, patting his cheek twice before turning and leaving the locker room. She needed to talk to Stella.

After looking everywhere in the lab first, Lindsay finally found Stella in her office, looking through a file. Lindsay closed the door behind her, letting her presence be known by Stella. She looked up and smiled, placing the file down on her desk.

"Hey Linds." Stella said, then actually _looked_ at her. Lindsay's hair was a bit messy, her clothes a little wrinkly and her face sporting a red hue. "What happened to you?"

Lindsay ran her hand through her hair unconsciously. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"So why do you look so...disheveled?" Stella said, leaning against her desk.

"Because something almost _did_ happen." Lindsay said. "He knows, Stella, Danny knows."

"Knows...what?" Stella said, a little confused.

"He knew, for a week, about the dreams I'd been having." Lindsay said, now pacing furiously back and forth in front of Stella. "He said "a little detective told him." You were the only person I told. Stella, please say you didn't tell him."

Stella started to feel insulted but looked at Lindsay, who had finally come to a stop in front of her. Stella saw a little anger in her eyes, but what got her was the look of betrayal. Lindsay was hurt by the idea that Stella would have told Danny a secret she trusted her with.

"Lindsay," Stella said, grabbing her hand. "I would _never_ tell someone something that was told to me in confidence. I would never break a friend's trust like that. And I do consider you a good friend, Linds."

Lindsay looked at the floor before looking back at Stella, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm sorry Stella, I shouldn't of doubted you. My mind isn't right at the moment."

"What happened?" Stella asked, pulling Lindsay onto the couch in the office.

"All week, Danny had been teasing me. At first, I thought it was just the playful type of teasing, the one he usually gives me and I'd give back. It's just how our friendship worked. But by the third day, I started to feel a change. He was using sexual teasing rather than the playful kind. Then he'd use any excuse to get near me or touch me or something like that. And those things started amping up my dreams. They woke me up about every hour, so it's suffice to say I haven't been sleeping too well. Today was worse than the others, so I went into the locker room to cool off and get my thoughts straight. Ten minutes later, Danny walks in, asking if I was okay." Lindsay said as she continued to tell Stella what happened.

"A challenge?" Stella asked disbelievingly. "He challenged you to "seduce" him?"

"He said he wanted to see me try to seduce him and my competitive side spoke before I could think it through." Lindsay said, nervously twisting her hands together. "Now that I had time to think about it, I'm certain I made a huge mistake. How am I supposed to seduce a player like Danny? He's probably seen it all."

"Don't downplay yourself, Linds." Stella said. "You're a catch. You just have to amp it up a bit."

"Amp it up?" Lindsay asked in confusion.

"You're sexy Lindsay." Stella said with a smile. "You have a wonderful body, all you need to do is show it."

"How?" Lindsay asked.

"Wear _really _tight clothes, ones that compliment your figure." Stella said. "Another thing, just do to Danny what he's doing to you."

"Tease him?" Lindsay clarified.

"Tease him mercilessly. He does like you Lindsay. The whole lab can see that, even if you can't. If you two weren't having this "competition" you guys probably could skip the foreplay and get right to the good stuff." Stella said, smiling when Lindsay blushed. "But since you two insist on seeing who breaks first, take any excuse to be near him, accidently brush up against him, talk seductively and work your body to the max."

Lindsay smiled as Stella's words sunk in. "I think I can do that."

"And I'll be here to help you whenever you need it." Stella said, getting off of the couch.

"Thanks Stella." Lindsay said, giving Stella a friendly hug.

"No problem kiddo." Stella said. "Now, get back to work before Mac has both our jobs."

Lindsay smiled and left the office, walking to one of the labs. Stella walked over to her desk but stopped to ponder something. She was going to get to the bottom of who told Danny if it killed her. And then kill that person. She smiled evilly as she left her office. It was time to put her good interrogation skills to the test.


	4. Lindsay Fights Back

**HEY Y'ALL. I KNOW I'M KINDA MOVING A BIT SLOW, BUT I'M TRYING TO BUILD THE WHOLE STORY BEFORE HAVING THEM JUMP EACH OTHER. PLUS, I LIKE STELLA AND LINDSAY'S FRIENDSHIP! **

* * *

Another week had passed but neither Lindsay or Danny were able to do much because they were so wrapped up in the case. After the CSIs finally finished, they were allowed a break for the weekend before coming in again on Monday. Lindsay was all packed up and was walking to the elevators when an arm reached out and pulled her into an office.

"Stella?" Lindsay asked, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. She wore a short sleeve blue button-down top, gray suit pants and black heels today.

"Wanna get some dinner with me?" Stella asked, shrugging on her pink trench coat. "I know this little diner near my place." She wore a gray silk-blend tank, denim jeans and gray ankle boots to work today.

"I could use some food." Lindsay said.

Both women walked to the elevators and took it down to the parking garage. They walked to Stella's department-issued Chevy and got in, Stella driving. They talked about little stuff on the way to the diner, Lindsay looking out the window at all the sights New York had to offer. She never thought she would be in such a big city like New York. The sky and sights were so different than in Bozeman. She would miss seeing the stars every night, but the sights of New York at night made up for it. About 20 minutes later, they reached the diner. Stella parked and they both got out. Inside they found a place to sit and started looking over the menu.

"So, hows the "bet" going?" Stella asked, looking up at Lindsay.

"Nothing but small stuff for the past week." Lindsay said. "We'd both had been so busy with the case, we didn't really have time to do anything but tease."

"How?" Stella asked.

"Accidently brushing up against one another or just talking dirty." Lindsay said, blushing.

"How's it working out so far?" Stella asked. "Who do you think is winning?"

"It's actually hard to tell." Lindsay said.

"Stella, honey, how are you?" the waitress, a sweet old lady, said as she walked up to their table.

"I'm fine Mary." Stella said, smiling. "This is my friend Lindsay. We work together."

"It's nice to meet you." Lindsay said, also smiling.

"You too, sweetie." She said. "Could I get you something to drink?"

"I'll have a water." Stella said.

"Diet coke." Lindsay said.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Mary said, turning and walking towards the kitchen.

"So, you'd say you're at a tie?" Stella asked.

"I guess so." Lindsay said, shrugging. "But now that we don't have a case over our heads, who knows what will happen."

Stella nodded. "So, have you figured out who told Danny yet?"

"No." Lindsay said, groaning. "I still have no idea who it could have been."

"You don't need to worry about it Linds." Stella said, patting the younger woman's hand. "You just focus on winning the bet and I'll figure out who spoke."

"Stella, this isn't your problem." Lindsay said. "You don't have to."

"Too late." Stella said, smiling.

Mary came by and placed their drink on the table and took their food orders. She smiled again and left.

Stella took a sip of her water. "I'm very curious about who told Danny. I will find out who did this."

Lindsay laughed. "Thanks Stella. I can't believe I even thought it was you." She shook her head. "Have any suspects?"

Stella chuckled. "Maybe. It had to be someone at the crime scene two weeks ago."

"Yeah, cause that is the only time I spoke aloud about the dreams." Lindsay said.

"Okay." Stella said, nodding. "Well, it obviously wasn't Danny. He was told. If it was him, he would of said so. I doubt it was Mac." Stella laughed with Lindsay. "So, that leaves the patrol officers at the scene, some of the other CSIs and-"

"Flack." Lindsay said suddenly, realization dawning on her.

Stella slammed her hands down on the table, almost spilling their drinks. "Flack! That would make perfect sense!"

"It would?" Lindsay asked.

"Oh yeah, it would." Stella said. "Danny and Flack are as thick as thieves. Flack must of overheard it somehow."

"How?" Lindsay asked.

"Don't you worry Lindsay, I'll find that out." Stella said.

Their food arrived a few minutes after and they dug in, starving, since they really haven't eaten properly for the last week. After they finished, they paid and left the diner. Stella drove Lindsay to her apartment and she thanked Stella for dinner. Lindsay entered her building and went into the elevator, going up to her floor. She got her keys out and unlocked her door, walking in and locking back. She put her bag down on the floor and hung her jacket on the coat rack near the door. She took a long shower, thinking over this bet her and Danny were in. She didn't know whether to be excited or scared of Monday. She knew what Danny was capable of and that's what scared her. She pulled on a white cami and black soffees and climbed into her bed. Hopefully she would get a goodnights sleep.

Unfortunately, both nights this weekend, she got little sleep. It was now Sunday night and she prayed that she would get at least some sleep. She needed to be alert and at her best for the next day. She talked to Stella before and the older woman told her the same thing she did before: wear something sexy to work tomorrow.

Lindsay laid in her bed and stared up at the ceiling and sighed. She had just woken up from another dream and her whole body felt like it was on fire. She was wondering if this bet was even worth it. If her body didn't get what it wanted soon, she would explode. She rolled over and tried to at least get a few more hours of sleep before she would need to wake up for work.

_Beep...Beep...Beep_

Lindsay slammed her hand on top of the alarm clock and rolled out of bed. She walked into her bathroom and pulled her sweaty clothes off her body and jumped into the shower. After getting out, she blew dry her hair and put on a little more make-up than she usually uses. She walked over to her closet and searched through it before finding a perfectly sexy outfit.

She pulled on a tight, white tee and put a black vintage vest over it. Next, she pulled back denim skinny jeans up her legs and put on black peep-toe sandal heels. She walked over to her jewelry box and grabbed a black chain cuff to put around her wrist. She walked over to her mirror and was pleasantly surprised at what she saw. She actually looked...sexy. She smiled and grabbed her bag, keys, badge and gun and left her apartment. Stella promised to pick her up so she could see the outfit before Danny could. Five minutes later, the black Chevy rolled to a stop in front of Lindsay and she hopped in.

"Now _that _is what I'm talking about." Stella said, whistling her approval. "Danny won't know what hit him, Linds."

"Really?" Lindsay asked, nervously pulling at her shirt.

"Yes." Stella said. "I would pay money to see his reaction."

Lindsay laughed and the two women talked until they reached the lab. Stella parked the car in the parking garage and they both got out. Stella was also looking good in her black and white animal-print top with a black belt around the waist, black denim jeans and white pumps. Stella and Lindsay walked over to the elevator and rode it up to the 35th floor. They walked off and went their separate ways. Lindsay got to the office she shared with Danny but wasn't surprised to see him not there yet. She took off her coat and hung it up and placed her gun in the drawer of her desk. She sat down in her chair and started going through the files on her desk, completely losing track of time. It was about an hour later that she was disturbed by a whistle from the direction of the door. She looked up and saw Danny leaning against the door frame, blatantly checking her out. She blushed but refused to look down, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. She stood up and sashayed over to him, all but molding her body to his. She looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled.

"See something you like?" Lindsay asked, placing a hand on his chest.

Danny smiled, almost leaving her weak in the knees, and laughed. "Maybe. Any reason why ya dressed like that?"

"Dressed like what?" Lindsay asked, tracing random patterns on his chest with her hand. At first, she thought she wasn't affecting him, but when she ran her hand over his heart, she felt it beating unusually fast. _So he is affected by me. _She thought. _One point for me._

Danny leaned down, his mouth right by her ear. "So sexy that I'm really considerin' rippin' them off ya perfect lil' body right now."

_Damn him!_ She thought as she felt a burst of heat cover her body before settling in the pit of her stomach. She was about to move when she felt his head move lower and he pressed his lips against the side of her neck. She felt a shiver zip down her spine, increasing the heat in her stomach. Her breathing sped up a bit and she couldn't think right. Something in the back of her mind told her she couldn't do this here but the commonsense part of her brain was so muddled by lust she couldn't hear it. He pressed a few more kisses on her neck and she thought she was about to pass out when he pulled up and gave her that damn smile of his.

"That's how it's done, Montana." Danny whispered in her ear before pushing himself off of the door frame, pushing her off of him, and walking out of the office towards one of the labs.

Lindsay walked over to couch in the office and sat down, taking in a shaky breath. It started out just how she wanted it to, but somehow he turned it around on her. She was shaking with so much pent-up lust she felt like she was about to explode. She wiped her palms on her pants and stood up. She walked out of the office and went into one of the labs hopefully to clear her mind and come up with an idea on how to get him back.

It was around lunch time when she figured it was as good a time as any to try her plan out. She headed to the locker room, having seen Danny head towards it a few minutes prior. Before walking over to his locker, she checked to make sure they were alone. She smiled when she found out they were. She headed towards his locker and saw him there, shirtless. She stopped for a second, collecting herself, before walking over to him and stopping beside him.

"Hey Montana." Danny said, just a little confused seeing her in the locker room.

Lindsay didn't say anything but shoved him up against the locker next his. She wanted him to feel the pent-up lust she was experiencing plus relieve a little of her own as well. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. He didn't respond instantly, but when he did, she realized this probably wasn't her smartest idea. He pushed himself off the locker and turned them around, her now being the one pressed against the locker. He slanted his mouth over hers and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her so every inch of her was pressed against him. She ran her hands through his hair and shivered when she felt his tongue run against the seam of her lips. She opened them and danced around with his tongue before, like in her dreams, he dominated her. She could feel every inch of him, especially his very evident arousal pressing against her thigh. It sent her lust into overtime, so she started rubbing against him. Her hands came from around his neck and ran her nails down over his extraordinary chest and abs. She felt his chest vibrate with a growl and that caused her to moan. Finally, he pulled back and she rested her head on his chest, trying to get her breath back. He was just about to say something when a voice rang out.

"Danno, you in here?" Flack called out from somewhere near the locker room door.

"Damn it Flack." Lindsay heard Danny mutter before pushing himself off of her completely. "Yeah Flack, what do ya need?"

"We have a suspect in custody for your case and Mac wants you down at the station." Flack yelled back.

Danny smiled at Lindsay and pulled a shirt on from his locker before walking over to Flack. Lindsay slid down the locker she was leaning against and took a big breath in and out. She touched her lips, which were still tingling from the kiss, and sighed. She still wasn't sure if what she did was stupid or genius. Sure he was now aroused, but so was she. And she wasn't sure how much longer she would last without jumping him.


	5. It's Raining, It's Pouring

It's been a month since the kiss and Lindsay wasn't sure who was winning the bet anymore. They hadn't done anything as extreme as the kiss but the teasing had been bumped up to another level. It felt like Danny was bringing his A-game every time she was in the room with him. She teased back too, sure, but she had to admit he was a bit better at it than she was. Her alarm clock just woke her up, from yet another dream, and she went over to her window. She gazed out of it for a moment, trying to calm herself down. She looked at the sky and saw some clouds rolling in, but it didn't look that bad.

Lindsay pushed herself off the window, where she was leaning against, and walked over to her bathroom. After going through her routine shower-and-make-up, she went over to her closet and pondered. She had been making a great effort lately to dress as sexy as possible. Even if she couldn't say or do anything to Danny that particular day, at least her outfit would affect him somehow. She grabbed a tight, white v-neck tee, denim skinny jeans and knee-high high-heel boots. She smiled at her appearance and left her apartment. She climbed into her Chevy and drove to the lab. After parking her car in the parking garage and taking the elevator to the 35th floor, Lindsay was headed to her office to see if Danny was there. Half-way there, though, Mac intercepted her.

"We have a crime scene in Central Park." Mac said, before heading to the elevators, waiting on her.

Lindsay sighed and turned back around, going into the elevator. She got back into her car and followed Mac's to the crime scene. They arrived 10 minutes later and parked by the crime scene tape. It was a little warmer than usual, so Lindsay hadn't thought to bring a jacket. She got out and went to the back to grab her case. She met with Mac on the other side of the tape and started going through the notions of getting the evidence as she listened to Flack tell both of them what information he collected.

As her evidence-collecting went on, she started to notice that more and more clouds were rolling in and they weren't the fluffy, white kind. They were just about done with the crime scene when hell broke loose. Out of nowhere and without any warning, rain started pouring down, soaking everybody and everything. Luckily, all the evidence and the cameras were already in the car. Lindsay, Mac and Flack were just going over the scene to make sure they didn't miss anything when it came. Lindsay shrieked when she felt the razor blade-like rain pelt down on her. In the span of a minute, everyone was soaked.

Lindsay crossed her arms over her chest when the realization hit that she was wearing a thin, white t-shirt. She suddenly saw an arm out of the corner of her eye and she looked up to see Mac handing her the black coat he had been wearing. She sighed in relief and quickly pulled the jacket over her now see-through shirt, buttoning it up.

"Thanks Mac." Lindsay said.

"No problem." Mac said. "Let's get the evidence back to the lab."

Lindsay nodded and they both went to their cars. She got in and turned the heat on full-blast. Her hair was still sopping wet, her jeans, now a dark denim color, were stuck to her legs and she swore there was water in her boots. She followed behind Mac back to the lab, thinking of nothing but a warm shower and dry clothes. They both parked their cars and went to the elevator. Mac said he would take the evidence and she could change. Lindsay smiled her relief. As soon as the elevator doors opened, she shot out of them like a bullet and sped walked to the locker room, Mac's coat still on her.

* * *

Danny was coming out of a lab when he saw Lindsay zip by him, soaking wet, towards the locker room. He knew Lindsay had gone out to a crime scene with Mac, but didn't know she got caught in the downpour. He smiled as he walked down to the locker room. It was time to have fun with this and maybe get ahead in this competition.

* * *

Lindsay peeled off Mac's jacket and placed it on the bench. She opened her locker and looked around for some dry clothes. She found her gym clothes, a t-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers, but nothing else. _Oh well,_ Lindsay thought, _They're dry. _She propped her left leg up on the bench and unzipped her boot, pulling it off before doing the same with the other, sighing in relief. Then, she heard someone laugh and she froze.

"I see ya got caught in the rain." Danny said as he came into view. He looked over her and smiled. Her white t-shirt was now sticking to her skin and was see-through, so he could see her white bra underneath it. Her jeans were also sticking to her legs, outlining every glorious inch for him.

"What are you doing in here?" Lindsay said, glad she hadn't started getting undressed. "Don't you have work to do?"

Danny smirked at the blush covering her face. "Just waitin' for results, and ya know how long _that_ can take, so I needed to entertain myself."

"This is entertaining?" Lindsay asked in disbelief, forgetting that her shirt is now see-through, and gesturing to herself.

Danny licked his lips. "Is to me."

She gasped when she did remember the state of her shirt. "You're intolerable!" She grabbed Mac's jacket from the bench and used it to cover her chest.

Danny gave a little frown. "Hey! I was enjoyin' that sight." He walked closer to her and started pulling on the jacket.

Lindsay smacked his hands. "Stop it!"

"No." Danny said, finally succeeding in pulling the jacket away. "That's better."

Lindsay swallowed when she saw his usual light blue eyes grow into a dark cobalt and a sparkle light them. Lindsay huffed and covered her chest with her arms and grabbed her gym clothes.

"I'm going to take a shower to warm up." Lindsay said, regretting it when she saw him lick his lips and smirk. "Don't get any ideas."

Danny smiled. "Too late Montana."

Lindsay huffed and turned around, walking towards the showers. She placed her dry clothes on the benches near the stalls and pulled her top off, leaving her in her jeans and a white bra. She reached into the shower and turned it on, turning it to the perfect temperature. She was about to turn around to take off her pants when she was pushed into the shower, still half-dressed. She was about to turn around and yell, but was turned around by someone else and pressed into the back wall of the shower. All she saw before her eyes closed was Danny, his clothes now soaking wet.

Danny's lips crashed down onto hers and his arms wrapped around her waist to pull her against him, Lindsay feeling every part of Danny with her own body. She shivered when his fingertips of one hand skimmed her bare back while his other hand came to her chin, pushing it down, so her mouth was now open. His tongue touched every part of her mouth before coming and playing with her own. Her own hands were tangled in his hair before she wanted to feel his bare skin on hers. She slipped her hands under his shirt and pulled it up, making them break the kiss for one second. She flung it to the ground before pulling his lips back to hers, the spray from the shower continually pelting them.

Lindsay was starting to need oxygen, and so did he, so he broke off from her lips and started kissing down her neck. She felt his hands wander from her waist down to her ass and boost her up, making her wrap her legs around his waist. His mouth, still on her neck, was assaulting it with openmouthed kisses. Her head dropped back against the wall with a moan when he bit down, hard, onto the side of her neck. She felt his tongue sooth the sting before moving south. He kissed the tops of her breasts that were peeking out of her bra before moving one of his hands back up and undid her bra, Lindsay moving the straps down her arms and flinging it to the ground. She felt Danny groan before latching onto one of her nipples, sucking with earnest. Her whole body arched upward, bringing her sensitive center in contact with his growing arousal. She moaned her approval and started rubbing her hips against his.

* * *

Danny felt his arousal growing with every kiss he was giving this woman. He had to latch onto the last bit of self-control he had when Lindsay started rubbing her hips into his. Sparks of fire licked his entire body, adding to the heat he had in the pit of his stomach. He knew his sexual hunger far to well to know that if she kept doing what she was doing, he would end up ripping her jeans off and fucking her until she couldn't walk straight. He wanted to slow down, since they were in the lab's locker room, but Lindsay had him not thinking straight.

* * *

Lindsay desperately needed him to relieve the heat that was building in her stomach. She felt him kiss his way back up her chest and latch his mouth onto hers before his hand moved from her hips to the front clasp of her jeans. Right when she thought she was finally going to get some relief, a voice sounded in the air.

"Lindsay?" Hawkes voice rang out. "Mac said you were in here."

Lindsay groaned when Danny moved his lips from hers. "Yeah." She cleared it when she heard how breathy it sounded. "Do you need something?"

"Uh, Mac wants our help with the evidence you two collected from the crime scene." Hawkes said.

She sighed in frustration when Danny let her down, almost falling over, making Danny laugh silently. "Tell Mac I'll be out in a few."

"Ok." Hawkes said and the pair heard the locker room door close again.

Lindsay looked back up at Danny, her eyes apologizing. Danny nodded slightly, but leaned down to her ear and said, "We'll finish this later."

Lindsay looked at him and nodded before getting out of the shower, grabbing her gym clothes and a towel and going to her locker. She found a bra and some underwear at the bottom and thanked god that they were clean. She pulled her jeans and underwear off, with some difficulty, pulling the new pair on and then the sweatpants. She fastened her bra and pulled her college t-shirt on before lacing her sneakers up. Lindsay gave one last look towards the showers before wringing out her hair in the towel and leaving the locker room.

* * *

Stella was running some evidence in a lab when she saw Lindsay dart by, soaked head-to-toe. She laughed quietly, seeing that Lindsay had gotten caught in the rain storm. A second later, she saw Danny, with a determined smile, follow Lindsay to the locker rooms. _This should be interesting._ Stella thought to herself. Half-an-hour later, she was searching for Mac when she saw Flack exit the elevator. She hadn't really had any time to "interrogate" Flack in the past month, so she decided the evidence could wait a few more minutes and walked over to Flack.

"Flack, could I talk to you?" Stella asked, smiling. She didn't want him to think anything was wrong.

"Sure Stell." Flack said, following her into the break room.

Stella saw Flack sit at one of the tables, so she closed the door and locked it. She sat down across from the detective, chuckling a bit when she saw him start to get nervous. She folded her hands on top of the table and leaned on them.

"So Flack," Stella started. "Let's go back about a month and a half."

"Ok." Flack said, looking very confused.

"Remember the crime scene we were at, the one were the husband was shot in his house?" Stella asked, cocking her head to the side, trying to appear innocent.

Flack thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. What about it?"

"I want you to remember who worked that one." Stella said, standing up and going over to get coffee.

"Well, obviously you and me did." Flack said, turning in his seat to follow Stella's movements. "Mac was there and so was Danny and Lindsay."

"Good." Stella said, stirring her coffee with slow, precise movements. "Mac was outside, talking to the patrol officers and you were, at first, talking to the wife; Danny was collecting any evidence from the first floor and Lindsay and I were in the bedroom, the main crime scene."

"Okay." Flack said slowly, still not getting where this was going.

"You must of finished with the wife and were coming up the stairs to tell us what you learned when you saw the door closed." Stella said, resisting the smile that was coming when she saw realization flood his features.

Flack started getting up, clearly knowing where this was heading. "Stell, I really need to go and talk to Mac. You know, about our case and-"

Stella walked back over with her coffee in one hand and pushed Flack back into his seat with the other. "You are going nowhere Don Flack until I'm done with my story."

Flack barely nodded.

"Good." Stella said, sipping her coffee. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, the closed door. Instead of doing the right thing and knocking, letting Lindsay and I know you were out there, you stood quietly and eavesdropped into a private, confidential conversation. I don't know when you started listening but instead of keeping what you knew to yourself, you went and told your best friend, and the guy it concerned, Danny Messer. Did I get that about right?"

Flack looked down at his hands before looking Stella in the eye. "More or less. But please, Stella, tell me you weren't getting tired of the sexual tension that follows those two wherever they go?"

Stella shrugged. "Sure I was, but that still doesn't give you the right to go and tell Danny a secret Lindsay trusted me to keep!"

Flack smiled. "I guess it doesn't no, but if I didn't, Danny would never know that Lindsay does in fact like him and give him more confidence to go after her."

"Danny Messer? Not having the balls to ask out a girl? We are talking about the same guy, right?" Stella asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"Yup." Flack said, smirking. " But that was a secret Danny told me and seeing how you're against secret-telling, my lips are sealed."

Stella glared at Flack. "If you don't tell me what you know, I swear to god Flack that I will-"

The two were interrupted by a knock on the door. Stella glared at Flack again before going over and unlocking the door, opening it to see Lindsay. Stella looked at her and knew something was up. Her face looked flushed and her hands were clenching and unclenching.

Lindsay looked around Stella and saw Flack sitting. "Stell? Could I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure Linds." Stella said, leading the flustered woman into the break room. "Flack, we'll finish this conversation later."

Flack stood up and walked to the door before turning around to face Stella. "Actually, we probably won't." Before Stella could respond, he was gone.

Stella shook her head and let her anger fade away, focusing on Lindsay. "Okay, what happened?"


	6. Shopping

It's been a few months since the shower incident but neither Lindsay or Danny have broken yet. Nothing has gotten as bad as the shower incident, but close. Both sides are about to explode from lust, but they're both too stubborn to give in. Pride can be really annoying sometimes.

Lindsay came home after a long day at the lab, grabbing her mail before heading into the elevator and up to her floor. She unlocked her door and kicked off her yellow pumps, placing her mail and keys on her kitchen table. She went back and put her gun and badge in a safe in the closet before going into the kitchen to cook something to eat. As water was starting to boil, she was making mac n' cheese, she went through her mail. An envelope caught her attention, since it was thick and had her name on it in fancy script. She slid it open and pulled out what was inside and flipped it open:

NYPD Annual Fundraiser Gala

Detective Lindsay Monroe

Saturday, May 22, 2006

7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Attendance is Required, Black Tie Formal

Lindsay groaned as she reread it. Stella had warned her this was bound to come. It was in a month. She didn't even have anything that formal. _Oh god, formal!_ She thought. That meant all the guys had to wear tuxes, that meant Danny in a tux. Terrific. Lindsay threw the invitation onto the table and went back to preparing dinner. After eating, she went back into her room to get ready for bed. She took her outfit from that day, a tight-fitted red tee and denim jeans, and got into the shower. After getting into a green cami and black soffees, she crawled into bed to try and get a good nights sleep.

**2 Weeks Later**

Lindsay woke up, covered in sweat as usual, and got up to get ready for the day. She's been silently panicking about this gala and what the hell she would wear to it; its not like she has something formal just laying around in her closet. After showering and putting on make-up, she went into her closet. She grabbed an orange v-neck knit top, black denim jeans and tan ankle boots; she also slipped on a brown watch and put gold studs in her ears. She grabbed her bag, keys, badge and gun, leaving her apartment and heading off to work.

"Stella!" Lindsay groaned, later in the day. "I still don't have anything to wear to this gala." Both women were in the break room, refilling their coffees.

Stella was wearing a beige shirred ruffle top, black denim jeans and black platform pumps; she had on a black wristwatch and gold hoops in her ears.

"Then you're in luck Lindsay Monroe." Stella said, smiling. "Jess and I were talking about going shopping at this awesome dress shop in SoHo. Come with us."

"You two wouldn't mind?" Lindsay asked.

"Of course not Linds!" Stella said with a laugh. "We'll find a dress that'll knock Danny to the ground."

Lindsay blushed, but smiled. "When are we going?"

"Well, I'm off in about an hour. When does your shift end?" Stella asked.

"An hour." Lindsay said.

"Good. I'll call Jess and tell her we'll leave in about an hour and meet her there." Stella said. "This will be fun Linds."

Lindsay was finishing up her paperwork and was just about to sign out when Danny walked into their shared office. She really didn't have any time to deal with him and the bet at the moment.

"Hey Montana." Danny said, smiling and leaned up against her desk. "What'cha up to?"

"Going dress shopping with Stella for the gala." Lindsay said, tidying up her desk before standing up.

"Ah. No dresses in ya wardrobe?" Danny said, smirking.

"Nothing for a formal affair." Lindsay said. "I'll see you later."

"Have fun Montana." Danny said, slapping her ass as she passed by him.

She squeaked in surprise at the sudden contact and turned around to glare at him. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Danny asked, smiling innocently at her.

Lindsay narrowed her eyes and headed to the locker room to grab her bag and meet up with Stella. She opened her locker, grabbed her bag, putting her gun in it, but kept her badge clipped to her waist. She saw Stella head over to her as she closed the locker.

"Ready to go?" Stella asked.

"Lead the way." Lindsay, smiling.

They headed back to the elevator and before getting in, she saw Danny pass by and she blushed. The memory of him swatting her sent a familiar tingle through her body. She leaned against the back of the elevator and watched the numbers count down until the doors opened. They headed over to Stella's department-issued Chevy and got in, Stella driving. They chatted about different things on the way to the store. About 15 minutes later they arrived at the store. They both got out of the car and saw Jess waiting outside.

"Hey Jess." Stella called out.

Detective Jess Angell turned around at the sound of her name being called. She was wearing a white knotted stretch-jersey top, denim bootcut jeans and gray ankle boots.

"Hey you two." Jess said. "Glad you could come Linds. Stella tells me you need a drop-dead sexy dress to impress a certain wiseass CSI-slash-detective."

Lindsay looked over at Stella quickly. "Stella!"

"I'm sorry Linds, but Jess can help you out too. She has a good sense for fashion, and knows Danny just as well as I do." Stella said, wrapping her arm around Lindsay.

"Don't freak Lindsay." Jess said, grabbing Lindsay's hand. "I would never dream of telling him. His ego is big enough already. And, I know what it's like to like a guy like Danny."

"What?" both Stella and Lindsay said.

"Well, think about our little group." Jess said, putting quotations around group. "Who is the most like Danny?"

Stella thought about that for a moment before smiling. "Oh my god, Jess!"

"What?" Lindsay said, still lost.

"Think about this Linds." Stella said. "Who is the most like Danny that we know? A certain _detective_ we may or may not be a little p. at."

Lindsay thought about it before gasping. "No way! You like Flack?"

"Shh." Jess said, slapping her arm good-naturally. "Do ya want all of New York to know?"

"So," Stella said. "Looks like we need to find _two_ drop-dead sexy dresses."

"So let's not waste any time." Jess said. "You know our jobs. We might be called in at any moment."

"You are totally right." Lindsay said.

Stella opened the door, Lindsay and Jess following, and went into the shop. It was a cute boutique filled with tons of formal dresses, long and short, and they also had shoes. The place wasn't that expensive, so it was perfect for the three, since they're on a cop's salary. They were greeted by a friendly old clerk, who asked them what they needed. Stella, not shy at all, walked straight up to her and explained the whole thing, including the parts about Jess and Lindsay needing specific dresses to impress a guy. Both girls blushed, but stayed quiet, knowing that they couldn't stop Stella.

"So, you two need to make your men lose all brain function?" the clerk, whose name was Emily, said, smiling. "Why don't you three ladies grab the dressing rooms in the back and I'll see what I can find for you."

"Oh, please don't go to any trouble." Lindsay said. "We can find dresses on our own."

"Oh dear, you're definitely not from around here are you?" Emily said and Lindsay shook her head. "No one is that polite here in New York." Lindsay blushed. "You three are my only customers at the moment and nobody who comes in here wants to hear my opinion. I'm itchin' to do something."

"Okay." Stella said, smiling. "We'll be back in the dressing rooms."

For the next two hours, Lindsay, Jess and Stella were in and out of dresses. Every one they tried on were beautiful, but wasn't exactly what they were looking for. They were starting to run out of options when they each finally found a dress that was just perfect for each of them.

"Oh lord, don't you three look beautiful." Emily said. "I'm not saying this to get I sale-"

"We know that." Jess said.

"But these are just perfect on each of you." She said.

Stella walked up and down the hallway outside the dressing rooms and then stopped in front of the mirrors. She had on a white silk-chiffon one-shoulder gown with a partially exposed crystal-encrusted bodice. The gown had wide straps at one shoulder, a boned bodice, a draped sash front, and a cascading train at the layered skirt. She looked absolutely stunning in it. She had a model's body: tall, thin, and somewhat curvy. It also didn't hurt that the white made her tan skin look gorgeous.

Jess modeled her dress next for the others. She stopped in front of the mirrors and looked over herself. The dress was black, strapless, had a sweetheart bodice, coursed through by architectural boning, and an asymmetrically tiered skirt that spilt into long sheer panels, 26 inches longer in the back than in the front.

Lindsay was last and was surprised when she looked in the mirror. She didn't even recognize herself. She was in a spaghetti-strapped red silk dress with a tonal beaded bodice, a V neckline and back, a ruffle front that cascaded down from an empire waist with an A-line silhouette that skimmed the floor.

"Gorgeous." Emily said again. "Get back into your street clothes and I'll wrap these dresses up while you three go look at shoes. And because I like you, I'll give you any shoes you pick half-off."

"Wow." Stella said. "Thank you Emily."

"You guys remind me of my daughters." Emily said. "They live in California, so I never get to see them. But enough about me, get out of those dresses."

The girls got out of the dresses and each handed them to Emily before putting on their own clothes. They left the dressing room and headed over to the shoe area and started ruffling through them. About half an hour later, they each found the perfect pair of shoes. Stella had grabbed a pair of silver satin peep-toe shoes with three-inch heels. Jess had a pair of black/gold suede thin-strap, closed-toe, web wedges. Lindsay chose a pair of black peep-toe pumps with a pretty bow and a silver charm at the center on the toes with a 4 inch stiletto heel.

They brought their shoes up to the counter and placed them on it. Emily smiled at them, then gasped and ran to the back for a quick second. The three looked at each other in confusion, but waited. Emily brought back three small black boxes and placed each one in front of the girls.

"Open them." Emily said, smiling.

Stella opened hers first and gasped; inside was a diamond tennis bracelet and a pair of silver chandelier earrings. "Oh my god, Emily. They're beautiful."

"Just some old jewelry I've had for awhile. My daughters didn't want any of it, so I've just kept these in the back until just the right occasion, which is now. I want you three to have the jewelry."

Lindsay opened up her box next and teared up a bit. In her box was a ruby pendant on a silver chain, silver hoops and a silver stone-embellished bracelet. "I love them. Thank you."

"Go on dear, open yours." Emily said to Jess.

Jess smiled and opened hers, breaking out into a bigger smile. Her box held long crystal earrings and a white gold diamond bracelet. "Thank you."

The three talked with Emily a bit more before paying for their dresses and shoes and leaving the shop.

"You wanna grab lunch?" Jess asked, putting her dress, shoes and black box in the trunk of her car.

"I could use some food." Stella said, both her and Lindsay placing their items in the back of the Chevy.

"There's a sandwich place that opened by my apartment." Lindsay said. "We could try there."

"Sounds delicious." Jess said. "I'll follow you there."

Stella handed Lindsay the keys and they got into the car, heading off to lunch. 20 minutes later they stopped in front of the restaurant and parked the cars. They met up at the door and went inside. Each ordered a sandwich and drink at the counter, then went to sit down at a table.

"So," Stella said. "Those dresses will knock Danny and Flack on their asses."

"You really think so?" Lindsay asked.

"She really does doubt her own sexiness, doesn't she?" Jess asked Stella, laughing.

"Every time." Stella said, laughing at Lindsay's expression. "Don't give me that look, Ms. Monroe. You are sexy and everyone knows it except you."

Lindsay mumbled something and shrugged. Their food arrived then and they started eating.

After a few minutes of silence, Jess spoke up. "So, earlier, you said you were pissed off at Flack."

Stella and Lindsay nodded.

Jess just sighed and shook her head. "What'd he do?"

Stella looked over at Lindsay, her eyebrows raised and Lindsay nodded. "Flack told Danny a secret about Lindsay that he really should of kept to himself."

"What secret?" Jess asked, leaning forward. Stella hadn't told her everything.

Between bites of their sandwich, Stella and Lindsay took turns catching Jess up to speed with the dreams, the bet and everything Flack had said. Jess just listened and ate her sandwich, nodding and interjecting at points. When they were done talking, their food was finished.

"I could beat both of those idiots with my bare hands." Jess said as they got up to leave.

"Stella beat Flack mentally a few months prior." Lindsay said, stopping just outside the door and looking around. "Spring is beautiful in New York."

"It really is." Stella said, looking around at the trees now in bloom and the sun shining in the blue sky.

"New York is such a beautiful place." Jess said as well. "Well, I need to get my dress home and then I need to get back to the station. Paperwork."

"The worse." Stella laughed, and hugged Jess. "Thanks for coming. We'll probably see each other again sooner rather than later."

"Probably." Jess said. "Bye Lindsay. I'll take your secrets to my grave."

"Thanks Jess." Lindsay said, hugging her. "I'll keep yours too."

"And I'll keep both of yours." Stella said with a laugh as she got into her Chevy. "Come on Linds. Let's get back to the lab."

Lindsay waved at Jess before climbing into the passenger seat. They drove back to the lab so Lindsay could get her Chevy and go home. Once they reached the parking garage, Stella helped Lindsay take her stuff into her car. They hugged goodbye and Stella watched Lindsay drive off. She shook her head and locked her car, heading up to the lab. As she got off at the 35th floor, she saw Mac wave her over.

"Yeah Mac?" Stella said, walking into his office.

"Is something going on?" Mac said, getting straight to the point, as always.

"With?" Stella said, although she already suspected his answer. She sat down on the couch in the office.

"Well, Lindsay and Danny for starters." Mac said, cocking his head to the side.

"Well, yes, I suppose something is going on between them." Stella said, smiling a little. "But that really isn't my business." Mac just looked at her. "Okay fine, I do know what is happening, but it isn't affecting their work. I wouldn't allow what's happening to happen if that were the case. Lindsay, definitely, wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her work."

"I've seen both of their work and know their not slipping, but thanks for the reassurances." Mac said. "Then there is something going on between you and Flack."

"What?" Stella asked, now confused.

"Stella, he's been refusing to work cases you've been working for the past few months." Mac said. "Haven't you noticed?"

Honestly, Stella hadn't. She'd been so wrapped in helping Lindsay she really hadn't been paying attention to which detective had been assigned to her cases. Now that she'd thought about it, Jess had been the detective on all her cases lately.

"I hadn't really noticed Mac." Stella said honestly.

"Every time you two are in the same area, he looks scared to death." Mac said and hid a laugh when a smile lit Stella's face. "Is it something I need to worry about?"

"No, don't worry Mac." Stella said. "It has nothing to do with work, trust me."

"You know I do Stella." Mac said. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. I'd been meaning to since that case five months back, when you wanted to go back to the lab with Lindsay instead of Danny, but things kept coming up and I got too busy."

"I thought that you let me go back with her too easily." Stella said with a laugh. "It's nothing. Danny and Lindsay are, well, they're getting back to normal. Well, normal for those two anyways."

"Just, don't let it get too out of hand." Mac said.

"You have my word Mac." Stella said, smiling. "I need to get some paperwork done. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Stell." Mac said, getting back to his work, smiling and shaking his head.

Stella laughed and left his office, going to her own. That bet needs to end, soon, before it did get out of hand.

* * *

**JUST AN FYI, THE GALA CHAPTER WON'T BE UP UNTIL A FEW MORE CHAPTERS ARE DONE! LOVE ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS! KEEP EM COMING! XOXO**


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